Address plate



Jan.29, 1935. w, B, DETW l LER I 1,989,635

' ADDRES S PLATE Filed Adg. 8, 1932 Patented Jan. 29, 1935 PATENT OFFICEADDRESS PLATE- Warren B. Detwiler, North Hills, Pa, assignor, to

Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pa

vania a. corporation of Pennsyl Application August 8, 1932, Serial No.627,856

1 Claim. (01. 101-869) Address plates are inked by ribbons or ink padsand they are used in large numbers in machines for printing the namesand addresses appearing on the mailing lists of magazine publishers anda other business houses. The names and addresses are embossed on theplates by means of cooperating types and dies, and are subject tochange. Large numbers of the plates have to be sorted and filed by hand,and for this purpose the legends on them have to be read from the sunkenside and it is necessary to store the plates in large quantities.

So far as I am aware such plates, ..with the exception of so-calledstencil cards, which are of thin paper framed in cardboard and are notreally plates, have been made of metal and embossed and in some casesprovided with folded or rolled side edges.

Generally stated, the present invention comprises the substitution ofso-called fiber, a sheet product of indurated paper-like material madefrom cotton, in place of metal in the manufacture of address plates.This fiber is chemically treated and hardened fiber. It consists ofcellulose made from cotton fiber paper and treated chemically with zincchloride, which is the laminating agent. The result is known aschemically treated and hardened fiber. ,The trade name is vulcanizedfiber. In view of the new mode of construction, the development of newproperties, the increased efilciency, and the saving in cost ofinstallation and operation, thereby effected; and in view of the factthat the excellence of the substituted material, fiber could not havebeen ascertained beforehand without experimentation and trial, andbecause practice shows the superiority to consist in greater cheapness,durability and eflicient action, new results are obtained.

In the drawing 7 Figure 1 illustrates anaddress plate embodying featuresof the invention, but the invention itself is of such character that itis incapable of satisfactory illustration.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flat plate, and

Fig. 4 isa transverse section ofFlg; 3.

Practice has demonstrated that addresses embossed on fiber plates can beeasily, quickly and accurately read, which facilitates and cheapens theoperation of sorting and filing them and makes that operation moreeillcient. This is due to the fact that thesunken letters and figures,readable from left to right on the non-printing side of the plate,present a dark or even black color appearance in sharp contrast with theface of the fiber plate, which may be grayish white, or reddish or ofother color; This excellence of fiber for address plates was not knownor appreciated beforehand and was demonstrated by practice. Afterdemonstration it can be accounted for by some rather occult physicalstructure or property of the face of the fiber which, in the light andhowever viewed, gives the dark color eii'ect to the sunken characters.In this connection it may be called to mind that the reflecting surfaceof a metal address plate makes the sunken characters difllcult to read,except in a certain light, so that the sorters have to put. the platesin that position in order to read them, which requires time. Likewisethe letters or characters can be blocked out from a fiber address plateand re-embossed without impairing 'legibility, and this is not true ofmetal address plates. This quality or excellence of fiber address platescould not have been foretold and it wasascertained in practice, contraryto expectation. In blocking out'a fiber address plate it does notspread, whereas a metal plate does.

A fiber address plate is possessed of increased efilciency, a saving incost of installation and operation, and embodies a new construction andto do, and if, when out of the embossing machine,

they are bent, they can be restored for use. This is an unexpected-property;'"which metal does not possess, and it is probably due to thephysical constitution of the body of the fiber. The edges of a fiberplate are blunt and will notcut the hands of the sorters, whereas theedges of metal plates are so sharp that the side edges of certain typesare rolled to avoid injury to the hand of the sorters, but the end edgescut the hands of the sorters and often produce metal poisoning. If it isdesired to stiffen plates and to space them in filing they may beindented as indicated at 1 in the drawing. The properties last referredto different colors, which is not true of metal, and this is useful inquickly distinguishing the address plates which appertain to one ofseveral mailing lists. It moisture in the atmosphere requires, the fiberaddress plates may be dipped in oil- 1 It has been found that in theaddressing or a list, label, or envelope, there is less pressurerequired in the printing machine when fiber is used, in comparison withmetal, consequently ribbon or ink pads can contain less ink and likewisethere will be less wear and tear on ribbons and pads. Also, inaddressing machines, breakage of metal plates often occurs, and it hasbeen found that it a fiber plate breaks in the printing machine, it isless destructive to the machinery than metal because of the fact that itwill shred or tear rather than bend and block the machinery.

I claim:

An address plate made of fiber and having characters sunk therein whichimpart a black color effect by contrast with the color of the tace 1 ofthe plate. WARREr-T B. DETWILER.

